InterVarsity Press Books discussion

Let's get to know one another! We already know you love books, and IVP books in particular. Please share with us anything else about yourself. Here are some questions to get you started:
*What topics do you read the most?
*Do you have a go-to spot to read? Where is it?
*Besides reading, what are your interests?

I'll start.

I work for InterVarsity Press, specifically with our website and social media sites. I mostly enjoy classic fiction, historical fiction, and history (I get that from my undergrad degree in English Lit). I usually start out reading sitting up on my couch, but I inevitably slouch into a laying position by the time I'm done. I also like to read with a pen in my hand so I can underline the sentences that tickle my admiration for good sentence structure and melody of words. My other interests include cooking, scrapbooking, watching movies, and talking theology with my husband.

What about you?

I'm a pastor serving in a small town in Minnesota. Aside from what I read "professionally," I like to read books on science, the history of science and archaeology. I also enjoy reading Dickens and other Victorian fiction. Exploring the natural world and traveling are other favorite activities.

Tim wrote: "I'm a pastor serving in a small town in Minnesota. Aside from what I read "professionally," I like to read books on science, the history of science and archaeology. I also enjoy reading Dickens and..."

Thanks, Tim! Great to meet you!

Leah,

Great to see this IVP group. I am a book addict, I guess. I started reviewing books on my blog and couldn't stop. I have reviewed 90 books and counting.... IVP is one of my favorite publishers.

I've reviewed:
-Reclaiming the OT for Christian Preaching
-Getting the Reformation Wrong
-The Meaning of the Pentateuch
-Global Awakening
-The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John

And I have more on my "to read" shelf.

I am active in my church and have a wife and five girls. Tech Sales Support during the day, and aspiring theologian and blogger by night.

I work in the computer industry (software development), but my passion is theology, history, and philosophy. Anything that touches those areas is usually of interest to me. Over the past few years i've also developed a love for the classics, from Homer to Tolstoy.

With four young children, reading takes place wherever and whenever it can - which is to say not often enough. :) Usually I'll take a break from work and read in the afternoon for a bit if possible, and then again at night before going to bed. Most often I have at least 2 or 3 going at a time - because I can't stick to just one when they're so much to be read!

I'm in my last year at Asbury Theological Seminary and work part time as a bank teller. I was an English major in college, so I have a wide range of reading tastes. Lately, though, I love reading biblical studies and theology books. My hope for the future is to be an academic pastor who encourages people to grow deep in their faith. My wife is starting to get fed up with my books which are slowly over taking our house, so I'm hoping I get an office sometime soon.

Sounds way too familiar, Kevin. I always have 4 or 5 books going at a time, and have five young children (all girls, ages 10 mo. to 8 years)....

@Bob - Sounds like you've got your hands full too! My four range from 5 months to 6 years (3 boys and 1 girl) - leaves little time for anything else! I can't imagine all girls, our 1 girl is our handful! :)

G'day, I'm Bill -- I've just arrived in goodreads after Visual Bookshelf (on facebook) shut down and kindly allowed all it's members to migrate here. goodreads is way better! I'm still sorting out all my reviews etc...

I'm an associate pastor on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensdland Australia. I love to read!

Bill wrote: "G'day, I'm Bill -- I've just arrived in goodreads after Visual Bookshelf (on facebook) shut down and kindly allowed all it's members to migrate here. goodreads is way better! I'm still sorting out ..."

Hi Bill, good to have you in the group. I think you're our first member from Australia!

I am a Lutheran pastor in Kansas. I enjoy reading and am currently enjoying Family Ministry, A Comprehensive Guide by Diana Garland. An IVP book I plan to read in the near future is "Run with the Horses" By Eugeen Peterson. I previously read his "Long Obedience in the Same Direction" and enjoyed that very much. I am also a subscriber to the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, and have read a little in some of those.

Luke wrote: "I am a Lutheran pastor in Kansas. I enjoy reading and am currently enjoying Family Ministry, A Comprehensive Guide by Diana Garland. An IVP book I plan to read in the near future is "Run with the H..."

Thanks, Luke! Thanks for joining the group! Let me know if you have any book questions I can help you with.

Hello, my name is Tony and I'm a bibliophile. IVP is one of my favorite publishers. I am a UM pastor and belong to the IVP Book Club. I enjoy the ACCS series and the series of dictionaries. IVP is a trusted source and I'm glad to have discovered this group.

Tony wrote: "Hello, my name is Tony and I'm a bibliophile. IVP is one of my favorite publishers. I am a UM pastor and belong to the IVP Book Club. I enjoy the ACCS series and the series of dictionaries. IVP is ..."

Thanks, Tony! Glad to have you here! I try to update this group with new books and special interest links on a regular basis. Please let me know if you have any questions about books or IVP!

My name is David and I attended Lincoln Christian Seminary (Theology & Philosophy). I have worked in Mental Health and Corrections (Probation Officer and Lead Youth Counselor) for 25 years. Retired this year. Still learning!

Hi David. Welcome and congrats on retirement!

Hello I am Luella
I work in a high school library and a public library. I love to read and am interested in reading some really great christian fiction/non fiction books.

Luella wrote: "Hello I am Luella
I work in a high school library and a public library. I love to read and am interested in reading some really great christian fiction/non fiction books."

Hi Luella, great to have you!

Let me know what kind of topics you're interested in reading, and I can give you some good non-fiction book suggestions.

Leah,

I work on InterVarsity staff and have been nurtured on a diet of IVP books since my student days (a few years ago and then some!). I especially enjoy your stuff on the university, spiritual formation, biblical studies, and theology. I also read a good deal of history, fiction and enjoy a good mystery from time to time. I host a group on our campus called "The Dead Theologians Society"! Other interests include choral singing, gardening and hanging out with my wife's artist friends and encouraging her work. I enjoy reading anywhere there is a good cup of coffee!

Bob

Bob wrote: "Leah,

I work on InterVarsity staff and have been nurtured on a diet of IVP books since my student days (a few years ago and then some!). I especially enjoy your stuff on the university, spiritual..."

Glad to have you, Bob! I would love to hear how some of our books are being used on campus through IVCF! And if I was a student, I think I'd probably be a member of the Dead Theologians Society!

Leah,

My latest recommendation is "Are You Waiting for 'The One'. Have a couple grad students already reading this! Some of the most practical and well grounded teaching on this stuff I've seen. Some other favorites: John Stott's "Your Mind Matters" has been our giveaway book for NSO the past two years. I've also used James Emory White's "A Mind for God." That's just for atarters.

Bob

Bob wrote: "Leah,

My latest recommendation is "Are You Waiting for 'The One'. Have a couple grad students already reading this! Some of the most practical and well grounded teaching on this stuff I've seen...."

I'll pass that on to our campus liaison. Thanks!

Good morning all,

My name is Shaun Tabatt. I am a hopeless bibliophile and have been reviewing books going on several years now. I'm a very blessed homeschooling father of 7 and have just recently moved to running my own business full time that focuses on helping Christian authors and publishers navigate the world of web and social media. Also, I'm a long time fan of IVP and one of my favorite IVP authors / editors is Thomas C. Oden.

Hi Shaun,

Great to see you on Goodreads. Are you as avid a user here as you are on Facebook? One can only hope. :)

Leah

Leah wrote: "Hi Shaun,

Great to see you on Goodreads. Are you as avid a user here as you are on Facebook? One can only hope. :)

Leah"

Leah,

I'm trying to get more into the social aspects of Goodreads, so I'll definitely be on Goodreads more often. We'll see how it goes. ;-)

Shaun

I would definitely want to be a part of the Dead Theologians Society. I used to host a Bible study called the Dead Prophets Society. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

I'm head Cashier at Barnes & Noble in Carmel, Indiana. I read a variety of topics. In fiction I love westerns and thrillers. My favorite non-fiction topics to read are those in which help encourage growth in people's.

Wesley wrote: "I'm head Cashier at Barnes & Noble in Carmel, Indiana. I read a variety of topics. In fiction I love westerns and thrillers. My favorite non-fiction topics to read are those in which help encour..."

Glad to have you, Wesley!

Hi Everyone!

I'm Tim. I started following IVP several years ago when, in the private high school I attended, I took a class on worldviews and apologetics. Then, about a year later my church did a class on worldviews and I noticed that some of the books I had read on worldviews/apologetics were by IVP. I went online to check out what else IVP might have and to my surprise there were all sorts of good quality books on a variety of topics, some of which I didn't even know existed or didn't think to view from a Christian perspective. It was exciting then and still is!

Since then, the types of books I like to read the most are:

From IVP -
Spiritual Formation
Church History
Cultural Analysis
Business/Economics (btw, really liked Why Business Matters to God)

Fiction -
Star Trek
Mysteries (mostly Agatha Christie, but some Scandinavian)

I'm currently living overseas in Germany. So, aside from reading and working I do a lot of traveling. I also like playing Angry Birds - it's addictive. And since the countryside is so beautiful, I enjoy going for walks. At other times, I tend to bunker down and watch movies or reruns of Star Trek: TNG and DS9. The Sky network we have shows lots of British shows, so I've become a fan of matching my "little grey cells" to those of Poirot and Marple, both in print and on screen.

When I am reading, however, I enjoy reading in a sitting room upstairs that has a nice view of the surrounding countryside.

Nice to have you, Tim!

I am Mabel I joined the IVP today as I was browsing my Goodreads page on facebook and saw that there is a group about christian books. I discovered today that although I have read a lot of christian books I have not yet read any books from IVP. Going through the bookshelf I have seen a lot of tittles from IVP I would love to read.
I read for two hours every morning from 5:00 am as it is the best time for me to comprehend.
The books I would like to read most are:-
Spiritual Formation
Church History
Cultural Analysis
I am a part time lay worker in the Methodist church in Sale circuit.

Hi, I'm Doug and I have been reading IVP books for several years.

Mabel wrote: "I am Mabel I joined the IVP today as I was browsing my Goodreads page on facebook and saw that there is a group about christian books. I discovered today that although I have read a lot of christia..."

Hi Mabel,
It's great to have you! I'm so glad you stumbled upon us at Goodreads. IVP has a lot of great classics from J.I. Packer and John Stott that you may have heard of, like Knowing God and The Cross of Christ:. We publish for campus, daily Christian living and many academic books for classroom use.

If you're looking for some recommendations based on your interests, I can give you some ideas. We have a very popular series called The Apprentice Series in spiritual formation that you might enjoy. It's a book you can work through individually or in a group to develop spiritual disciplines. The first book is called,
The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows. Check that out if it sounds interesting to you.

We have lots of Church History books, and you'd probably have to give me more direction with specifically what kind of history you like, but for an overall view, the Pocket History of the Church is a concise little book packed with rich content.

We also have many books on Christianity & Culture, but one I would recommend would be Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch. This book won Christianity Today’s 2009 Book Award for Christianity and Culture and was named one of the best books of 2008 by Publishers Weekly, Relevant, Outreach and Leadership.

I hope that helps a bit in your introduction to InterVarsity Press! I would love to answer any other questions you have about our books or mission.

Leah

Doug wrote: "Hi, I'm Doug and I have been reading IVP books for several years."

Hi Doug,

It's nice to meet you through Goodreads! I always love hearing from long-time IVP fans.

Leah

nice to meet you.

Leah wrote: "Mabel wrote: "I am Mabel I joined the IVP today as I was browsing my Goodreads page on facebook and saw that there is a group about christian books. I discovered today that although I have read a l..." Hi Leah, thank you for the books you have recommended there is one in particular I would like to read in not too distant a future. Mabel.

Mabel wrote: "Leah wrote: "Mabel wrote: "I am Mabel I joined the IVP today as I was browsing my Goodreads page on facebook and saw that there is a group about christian books. I discovered today that although I ..."

Great!

I am a seminary student at TEDS, other than reading I go to the pub with a friend and talk about what I am reading :). I like reading on Pauline theology, Trinitarian theology, and historical reconstruction in the early church. I read in a room alone with my head phones on.

Ryan Benjamin wrote: "I am a seminary student at TEDS, other than reading I go to the pub with a friend and talk about what I am reading :). I like reading on Pauline theology, Trinitarian theology, and historical recon..."

Nice to meet you, Ryan! Are you reading any IVP books at the moment?

One of the books I'm reading is "Word of Life" by Timothy Ward which is published by IVP; it's a textbook for the fall.

Ryan Benjamin wrote: "One of the books I'm reading is "Word of Life" by Timothy Ward which is published by IVP; it's a textbook for the fall."

Hey Ryan, what class are you reading Word of Life for? I believe a friend of mine had to read that book for a psych class at Wheaton College.

I'm Nelson and IVP is my second favorite publisher of religion books (behind Oxford). I work for the federal government and am a grad student in applied math. My latest book was Alister McGrath's Doubting. Previously, I've read his Dawkins Delusion, John Walton's Lost World of Genesis One, and Clark Pinnock's The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God. I also own Walton's IVP Background Commentary: Old Testament which I use on a regular basis, and the corresponding New Testament volume by Craig Keener.

I am a Mormon and my first IVP book was How Wide the Divide: A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation by Craig Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson.

Hi Nelson, welcome to the group! (I just now saw your comment!) Thanks for sharing; what did you think of How Wide the Divide?: A Mormon & an Evangelical in Conversation?

Thanks for the warm welcome. HWTD was an excellent book, I recommend it for everyone. Both Robinson (PhD, Duke) and Blomberg (PhD, Aberdeen) are Bible scholars.

It was also my gateway to the IVP world.

I work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a secretary. I read in our apartment where ever it is quiet where I don't here the television. My interests are reading, studying my bible, studying about nutrition, and listening to classical and Christian music.

G'day. I live in Sydney, Australia. I've been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ here since 1995. I also completed an M.Div at Denver Seminary (it was great having Craig Blomberg as a professor). My wife is from Colorado & my kids are adopted from the Philippines. I'm reading a lot in the area of the historical Jesus, the gospels in general & the parables in particular. There is a strong Reformed evangelical community in Sydney, even though the city is in total only about 3% Christian (and that includes a huge Hillsong -ie AOG- church). I use Logos software & find that there are a lot of historically important books that are available cheaply on it (in addition to recent scholarship).

Nelson wrote: "Thanks for the warm welcome. HWTD was an excellent book, I recommend it for everyone. Both Robinson (PhD, Duke) and Blomberg (PhD, Aberdeen) are Bible scholars.

It was also my gateway to the IVP ..."

We're glad you found us! Let me know if you are ever looking for a book on any particular topic.

Carol wrote: "I work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a secretary. I read in our apartment where ever it is quiet where I don't here the television. My interests are reading, studying my bible, ..."

Hi Carol, welcome to the group!

It's tough to find a quiet room with no TV sometimes, isn't it?

Geoffrey wrote: "G'day. I live in Sydney, Australia. I've been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ here since 1995. I also completed an M.Div at Denver Seminary (it was great having Craig Blomberg as a professo..."

Hi, Geoffrey! We love Logos at IVP! It's helping so many people find valuable resources and it's really helpful to people outside the US since you don't have to deal with any shipping issues. We are currently working on several projects with them, and recently came out with this collection on the New Testament: http://www.logos.com/product/9681/ivp... You might find it useful.

It's great to hear that there is a growing community out there in Sidney and we have dedicated leaders like you working for Cru there. Thanks for sharing!

Hello, just joined the group. Looks interesting. I am an author on Goodreads and Amazon. Amazon Kindle allows it's authors to have "free" book promotion days. I would like to be able to share my free book downloads with the group as I schedule them. I trust this will be acceptable.